{"id":5830,"date":"2016-08-31T05:00:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-31T12:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=5830"},"modified":"2016-08-31T02:07:58","modified_gmt":"2016-08-31T09:07:58","slug":"mark-watches-serial-experiments-lain-episode-7-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2016\/08\/mark-watches-serial-experiments-lain-episode-7-society\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Serial Experiments Lain’: Episode 7 – Society"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the seventh episode of\u00c2\u00a0Serial Experiments Lain<\/i>, Lain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friends are concerned, but the mysterious men in black suits are even MORE concerned for her. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Serial Experiments Lain<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The brief subplots that comprise \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Society\u00e2\u20ac\u009d feel like a slice of this specific life, as if the show wanted to demonstrate to us the various ways in which the Wired can affect people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s day-to-day actions. We catch a glimpse of a stereotypical image of a man surrounded by debris, chuckling at himself as he apparently dedicates the rest of his day to proving that everyone else online is awful. But then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also the stay-at-home mom who is raising a son, possibly by herself, who gets new tech for her own enjoyment. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the unnamed man who devises an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153accessory\u00e2\u20ac\u009d of sorts that allows him to have a wireless attachment to the Wired. He uses\u00c2\u00a0that<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to wander Tokyo, begging the Knights to take him in as one of their own. Which seems like a terrible idea, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a separate point.<\/p>\n

All these plots feed back to Lain, and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no doubt anymore that\u00c2\u00a0she<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is the center of this story. Whatever the Knights are planning to do \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s terrible \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they want Lain to be the main part of it. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Society\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is not the first time they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve used her image in their work, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the most obvious confirmation of the separate identities at play here. The Lain in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Kids\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that appears in the sky is an appropriation, one that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both a way to toy with Lain\u00c2\u00a0and<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to compel her to be a part of their schemes.<\/p>\n

So who exactly are the men in black suits, then? A government organization? A mysterious third party who are monitoring the chaos in the Wired and try to prevent some catastrophic event? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably safe to theorize that they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t out to get Lain, though I wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re on her side, necessarily. Like, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t trust them at\u00c2\u00a0all<\/i>. But in this episode, they ask Lain to come with them by promising to tell her who they are. (WHICH THEY DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T EVER DO, FOR THE RECORD. CHEATERS. I WANT TO KNOW.) Once she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the Tachibana Labs, though, they do something unexpected.<\/p>\n

They\u00c2\u00a0bait<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0Lain. I figured that the whole innocent act that the group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leader gave was some sort of test. But what the HELL follows that??? They establish her natural talent with computers, which is also surreal to watch because REMEMBER WHEN SHE COULDN\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T DO ANYTHING AT ALL???? Yet I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand why they push her so far in terms of existential terror. If I understood this right, they\u00c2\u00a0also<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0believe what the Knights have told her (or Deus): that the real world is not so real at all, that everything is an illusion based on the information within the Wired. If that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the case, then are they working to maintain that illusion? Is that what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re worried that the Knights will destroy?<\/p>\n

That makes a lot of sense, I suppose. But now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m wondering if they goaded Lain into revealing her Wired personality for a reason. That version of herself isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t an illusion at all; once threatened, Lain slipped into it fairly quickly. (THAT WAS SUCH A TREAT TO WATCH.) But what purpose does this serve for them? Why did they need to know this? Even more perplexing is the fact that they LET LAIN LEAVE. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just going to\u00c2\u00a0watch<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0her? Why not act? What do they expect she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll do? Do they know of the people being harmed or killed by the Knights, and why won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they do anything about them?<\/p>\n

I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T UNDERSTAND YET. I feel like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m closer, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not quite there. THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT.\u00c2\u00a0Yes, you<\/i>.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Society\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b>
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0 Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"